FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TO: Maine News Outlets
FROM: Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association
DATE: July 12, 2024
MAINE ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATORS RECEIVE RECOGNITION AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Two Maine high school athletic administrators – Dennis Walton of Biddeford High School and Zachary Lemelin of Sanford High School – received awards on July 10 at the 15th annual National Sports Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition held at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. The program was sponsored by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security(NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi and brought together sports industry leaders from the professional, collegiate, and interscholastic ranks as well as organizers of marathon events.
Walton, who was recognized in the April as Maine’s athletic director of the year by the Maine Interscholastic Administrators Association, received one of NCS4’s Professional of the Year Awards. The Professional of the Year Award recognizes member of the sports management field who has, over the past year, demonstrated outstanding leadership in addressing safety and security issues and whose contributions have set an example for others to follow. Walton was the only high school athletic administrator in the United States given this distinction among a pool of award winners that also featured personnel from the NCAA, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.
Lemelin, currently in his second year as the athletic director at Sanford, was recognized by NCS4 with the Emerging Industry Leader Award. The Emerging Industry Leader Award recognizes a young professional who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in addressing safety and security issues and has set an example for his or her colleagues. Like Walton, Lemelin was the sole secondary school athletic director in the United States to receive this honor.
The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security supports sports and entertainment industries throughout the United States through innovative training, research, and outreach programs.
